An accessible survey of the history of European overseas empires in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries based on new scholarshipIn this thematic survey, Gabriel Paquette focuses on the evolution ...of the Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and Dutch overseas empires in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He draws on recent advances in the field to examine their development, from efficacious forms of governance to coercive violence. Beginning with a narrative overview of imperial expansion that incorporates recent critiques of older scholarly approaches, Paquette then analyzes the significance of these empires, including their political, economic, and social consequences and legacies. He makes the multifaceted history of Europe's globe-spanning empires in this crucial period accessible to new readers.
As cardiovascular computed tomography (CCT) practice evolves, the demand for specialists continues to increase. However, CCT training remains variable globally with limited contemporaneous data to ...understand this heterogeneity. We sought to understand the role of CCT globally and the training available to underpin its use.
We performed two consecutive surveys of cardiology and radiology physicians, two years apart, utilizing the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) website, weblinks, social media platforms, and meeting handouts to maximize our response rate. We compared United States (US)-based vs. international responses to understand global similarities and differences in practice and training in the surveys.
235 respondents (37% trainees and 63% educators/non-trainees) initiated the first survey with 174 (74%) completing the core survey, with 205 providing their work location (114 US and 91 international). Eighty-four percent (92/110) of educator respondents stated a need for increased training opportunities to meet growing demand. Dedicated training fellowships are heterogenous, with limited access to structural heart imaging training, despite structural scanning being performed within institutions. The lack of a standardized curriculum was identified as the main obstacle to effective CCT learning, particularly in the US, with web-based learning platforms being the most popular option for improving access to CCT training. 148 trainees initiated the second survey with 107 (72%) completing the core components (51% North America, 49% international). Only 68% said they would be able to meet their required CCT education needs via their training program. Obstacles in obtaining CCT training again included a lack of a developed curriculum (51%), a lack of dedicated training time (35%), and a lack of local faculty expertise (31%). There was regional variability in access to CCT training, and, in contrast to the first survey, most (89%) felt 1:1 live review of cases with trained/expert reader was most useful for improving CCT training alongside formal curriculum/live lectures (72%).
There is a need to expand dedicated CCT training globally to meet the demand for complex CCT practice. Access to CCT education (didactic and 1:1 case-based teaching from expert faculty), implementation of recently published global training curricula, and increased teaching resources (web-based) as an adjunct to existing experiential learning opportunities, are all deemed necessary to address current educational shortfalls.
Table of Contents Summary: Serial surveys were performed by the Society's FiRST Committee members and Future Leaders Program participants to understand the contemporary nature of CCT use and education available to trainees to underpin its utilization. Despite the validation and growth of CCT in recent years, ongoing obstacles to CCT training identified were lack of 1) developed CCT curriculum, 2) CCT scanner/training time, and 3) faculty expertise at local institutions. This article serves as a continued call to action to update and modernize the educational CCT curriculum around the world.
Aim The aim of the study was to determine difference between central corneal thickness (CCT) among myopic and emmetropic eyes.
Material and Methods A total of 186 participants participated in this ...comparative cross-sectional study. Sample size was calculated using the WHO calculator and enrolled by consecutive sampling technique. Detail eye examinations were performed of anterior and posterior segments with slit-lamp and refractive status were determined with Auto-refractometer (Nidek ARK 1a) and Pachymetry with Specular Microscope (Topcon SP2000P). The analysis of data was performed in SPSS 22.
Results To carry out the study, 186 candidates volunteered their time and effort. Male and female participants were included in the study. About 56% of the candidates were men, and 44% were women. Individuals' ages varied from 16 to 49, on average (16-49). As for the control group, the average central corneal thickness was 522.30 microns and standard deviation of ± 29.563. Their sizes varied from 439 microns to 619 microns. The average CCT of myopic people was 515.18 microns, and the standard deviation was ±28.972 microns. The relationship between CCT in myopic eyes and CCT in emmetropic eyes was analysed using a paired t test. The P value was only 0.09, the relevance of the test was not significant.
Conclusion: CCT difference between myopic and emmetropic eyes was no statistically significant (P 0.09).
Self-propagating solution combustion (SC) synthetic method has been used to prepare single-phase Gd4-xAl2O9:xTb3+ (x = 1–6 mol%) powdered samples. Various structural, morphological and optical ...studies are performed in order to characterize the designated nanocrystalline materials. Phase recognition and refinement parameters of doped phosphors are explored via X-ray diffraction (XRD) assisted Rietveld refinement technique which authenticates that powdered samples are crystallized into monoclinic crystal system having P21c space group. Williamson-Hall (W–H) linearly fitted method along with Scherrer's formula is employed to calculate the average crystallite size of doped materials which are found to be in the domain of nano-range. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals the presence of non-uniform agglomerated particles with characteristics porosity. The emission profile of all doped samples possesses sharp emission lines centred at 416, 438, 460, 486, 543, 591 and 621 nm due to 5D3 → 7F5, 5D3 → 7F4, 5D3 → 7F3, 5D4 → 7F6, 5D4 → 7F5, 5D4 → 7F4, and 5D4 →7F3 intra-configurational transitions of Tb3+ ion, respectively. The optimized doping concentration of Tb3+ ion for Gd4Al2O9 host is found to be 4 mol%. The resulting chromaticity coordinates (x, y) and high correlated color temperature (CCT) values of doped phosphors endorsed their usage in near ultra-violet NUV energized solid-state display appliances.
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•Solution combustion method was employed to prepare novel green light emitting Gd4Al2O9:Tb3+ nanophosphors.•Powdered samples have been crystallized into pure monoclinic crystal system.•Critical distance (Rc) among dopant ions has been measured for the energy transfer.•Radiative lifetime, quantum efficiencies and non-radiative rates were estimated.
This paper proposes a chaotic constellation transformation (CCT) technique for physical-layer security enhancement in orthogonal frequency-division multiple access based passive optical networks ...(OFDMA-PONs). The CCT is performed by using an advanced cat map whose control parameters are generated by a cross chaotic map. Moreover, a pilot-aided security key agreement scheme is proposed to ensure that the security keys are securely distributed between the transmitter and receiver. A 18.86 Gb/s encrypted 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation based OFDM signal transmission over a 25 km standard single mode fiber is experimentally demonstrated. The experimental results show that the proposed CCT technique and the pilot-aided secure key agreement are promising for physical-layer security enhancement in future OFDMA-PONs.
Machine learning has been useful for prediction in the various sectors of the economy. The research work proposed an ensemble SA-CCT machine learning algorithm that gives early and accurate ...prediction of blackpod disease to farmers and agricultural extension officers in South-West, Nigeria. Since data mining put into consideration the types of pattern in a given dataset, the study considered the pattern in climatic dataset retrieved from Nigeria Meteorological agency (NIMET). The proposed model uses climatic parameters (Rainfall and Temperature) to predict the outbreak of blackpod disease. The ensemble SA-CCT model was formulated by hybridizing a linear algorithm Seasonal Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) and a nonlinear algorithm Compact Classification Tree (CCT), the implementation was done with python programming. The proposed SA-CCT model gives the following results after evaluation. Precision: 0.9429, Recall 0.9167, Mean Square Error: 0.2357, Accuracy: 0.9444
Em muitos locais do mundo, o acesso ao exame PET/CT (tomografia por emissão de pósitrons) é extremamente difícil e muitos pacientes devem viajar longas distâncias para realizá-lo. Essa realidade pode ...ser encontrada no estado de Pernambuco, no nordeste brasileiro. Este estado possui pouco mais de 98000 km² e uma população estimada um pouco maior que 9,6 milhões de habitantes. Porém, apenas um equipamento de PET/CT funciona pelo sistema público de saúde neste estado, sendo localizado na capital no extremo leste. Neste contexto, entra em questão a necessidade de informar e orientar adequadamente os pacientes sobre este procedimento. Falha em fazê-lo pode levar a inutilização do procedimento diagnóstico, que muitas vezes deve ser repetido dias depois, elevando os custos relativos tanto ao procedimento em si quanto do deslocamento ou hospedagem do paciente envolvido. A telessaúde tem se mostrado uma solução promissora, destacando-se sua capacidade de reduzir custos e superar distâncias. Por exemplo, por meio de consultas e monitoramento remoto de enfermagem, pacientes podem receber atendimento de qualidade, evitando deslocamentos dispendiosos e desnecessários. Isso se torna ainda mais importante na realização de exames de alta complexidade como a PET/CT, essencial para o manejo de pacientes oncológicos. Dessa forma, a telenfermagem pode ter um impacto positivo no manejo e acesso de pacientes oncológicos ao exame PET/CT. Logo, objetivamos relatar a criação e o funcionamento de um sistema de telenfermagem para orientação de preparo de pacientes oncológicos para o exame PET/CT.
O presente estudo foi conduzido num hospital universitário referência em Medicina Nuclear na capital pernambucana. O hospital já tinha acesso prévio a plataforma Central de Telemonitoramento Clínico (CTC- HC) e Aplicativo de Gestão dos Hospitais Universitários (AGHUx) utilizando o modulo Sistema de Telemedicina e Telessaúde. Todo o processo deste estudo foi embasado na Lei 13.709, que trata da proteção de dados. O treinamento dos profissionais de enfermagem consistiu em orientação sobre o funcionamento das plataformas de telessaúde, baseando-se em um roteiro pré-estabelecido. O sistema de consultas de telenfermagem consistiam em: agendamento dos pacientes; teleatendimento para confirmação da teleconsulta através do aplicativo Whatsapp Business e com envio de links para acesso a teleconsulta na plataforma AGHUx; teleconsultas realizadas na plataforma AGHUx/STT de forma síncrona e integrada ao prontuário eletrônico do paciente com certificado digital. Um total de 92 pacientes foram atendidos, sendo 64 mulheres (69,6%). Em relação ao município de origem, 33 (35,9%) pacientes moravam na capital e 59 (64,1%) em outras cidades. Os pacientes residiam em 27 diferentes municípios no estado. A mediana do deslocamento necessário para os pacientes do interior receberem atendimento convencional seria de 167,0 Km (IQ: 120,0 – 372,0 Km), com um valor máximo de 1140 km e mínimo de 14 km. Nenhum paciente teve preparo inadequado no exame de PET/CT.
Neste relato, destacamos o potencial do uso da telenfermagem no preparo e orientação adequada de pacientes submetidos ao exame PET/CT. Nossas análises demonstram uma grande redução do deslocamento dos pacientes. Todos os pacientes apresentaram preparo adequado no momento da realização do exame.
Significance Statement
Plant NF‐Y requires flexible heterotrimerization and DNA‐binding rules to induce the appropriate transcriptional response in a multitude of plant decisions. Here we present the ...crystallographic structure of a plant NF‐Y/DNA complex and two NF‐YB/NF‐YC dimers, complemented with biochemical mutation experiments, showing the molecular bases for the plant subunit organization and DNA recognition.
SUMMARY
NF‐Y transcription factor comprises three subunits: NF‐YA, NF‐YB and NF‐YC. NF‐YB and NF‐YC dimerize through their histone fold domain (HFD), which can bind DNA in a non‐sequence‐specific fashion while serving as a scaffold for NF‐YA trimerization. Upon trimerization, NF‐YA specifically recognizes the CCAAT box sequence on promoters and enhancers. In plants, each NF‐Y subunit is encoded by several genes giving rise to hundreds of potential heterotrimeric combinations. In addition, plant NF‐YBs and NF‐YCs interact with other protein partners to recognize a plethora of genomic motifs, as the CCT protein family that binds CORE sites. The NF‐Y subunit organization and its DNA‐binding properties, together with the NF‐Y HFD capacity to adapt different protein modules, represent plant‐specific features that play a key role in development, growth and reproduction. Despite their relevance, these features are still poorly understood at the molecular level. Here, we present the structures of Arabidopsis and rice NF‐YB/NF‐YC dimers, and of an Arabidopsis NF‐Y trimer in complex with the FT CCAAT box, together with biochemical data on NF‐Y mutants. The dimeric structures identify the key residues for NF‐Y HFD stabilization. The NF‐Y/DNA structure and the mutation experiments shed light on HFD trimerization interface properties and the NF‐YA sequence appetite for the bases flanking the CCAAT motif. These data explain the logic of plant NF‐Y gene expansion: the trimerization adaptability and the flexible DNA‐binding rules serve the scopes of accommodating the large number of NF‐YAs, CCTs and possibly other NF‐Y HFD binding partners and a diverse audience of genomic motifs.
To determine association between central corneal thickness and type 2 diabetes mellitus in patients attending outpatient department of Ophthalmology at a tertiary care centre in North Karnataka.
This ...is a cross-sectional study conducted over a period of April 2018 – September 2020 on patients attending outpatient department of Ophthalmology at a tertiary care centre in North Karnataka. Study includes 168 subjects divided into 3 groups: 40 diabetics whose duration >10 years46 diabetics whose duration ≤10 yearsand 82 controls.Detailed ophthalmic examination was conducted in all patients and central corneal thickness was measured using ultrasound pachymetry.
A statistically significant difference was found between mean central corneal thickness of diabetics (534.0581µ - right eye; 534.3605µ - left eye) and non-diabetics (525.8659µ - right eye; 525.8659µ - left eye); p value <0.05. Association between central corneal thickness and age, gender, laterality and duration of diabetes were not statistically significant.
Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus have thicker corneas as compared to non-diabetics. Henceforth, it is important to measure central corneal thickness in all diabetics, as it affects IOP measurement which is vital for early diagnosis and timely treatment of glaucoma.
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